Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Artwork: Invictus
Artist: William Ernest Henley
About the poem:
The Victorian era was one of relative peace for England. It was a time of reflection, of romantic ideals that blossomed into some of the most potent art the country would ever see. It was also a time of strength, of improvement, and of pride.
For poet William Ernest Henley, reflection was the key to unlocking what today is undoubtedly his best known creation. As a child, he had developed tuberculosis in his leg, and by the time he was 20 had lost an entire leg below the knee to the disease. The other leg may have followed if not for the efforts of surgeon Joseph Lister.
While recovering from the last of several operations in 1875, Henley felt inspired to craft the poem above. Like many of his peers, his theme revolves around the notion of stoicism; the stiff upper lip that carried England through a time of extreme industrialism, and the author through great personal hardships.
Invictus is the latin word for ‘unconquerable’. Paired with the opening stanza especially, it opens the poem up to a range of perspectives. Is the night a metaphor for death? For uncertainty? Perhaps for the challenges of life that we must all, as humans, face? Whatever the case may be, Henley tells us he is ready to face them all, no matter the torment he faces.
What sets Invictus apart in the context of the time it was written in are the religious allusions in the final two stanzas. Religion still provided the framework for morality in Victorian England, though those who stood against the church were growing in numbers. Henley does reference the Bible, but ultimately argues that it is up to the individual to control their destiny and become who they want to be.
The poem has been referenced in historical speeches by the likes of Winston Churchill, Barack Obama, Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and Nelson Mandela, who used to recite it other prisoners at Robben Island. The poem’s title would later be used as the title of a 2009 biopic portraying post-apartheid South Africa.